Thursday, January 27, 2011

Happy New Year

It's still January, and Lunar New Year isn't until Thursday, February 3, 2011, so we can still say "Happy New Year!"

Welcome to my first blog post. I will try to keep it up, even though I only had time to start this today because it's a NYC snow day. Thank you for reading these words, but I'll use others' words to commemorate the year:

"Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given;
While angels sing with tender mirth,
A glad new year to all the earth."
(Martin Luther)
"I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me."
(Anaïs Nin)

I like these quotes separately, but I especially like their juxtaposition. I doubt Martin Luther and Anaïs Nin would ever have been in the same company.

Regarding the site's name, it was a draw between Red Poppy and Pink Peony. I like red and the poppy is the August baby's birth flower (along with the gladiolus), and the peony is one of my favorite flowers, especially in pale pink. Though a little long, I decided to use both names together because I appreciate the contrast between the two and what they represent to me: bold simplicity | girlie softness. 

By now it's supposed to be "out with the old and in with the new," but I feel like I have some catching up to do. Here are 4th quarter highlights, beginning with October, which seems to have become the unofficial start of the holiday season.

The Martha Stewart Show Taping 

Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Halloween set decorations
Prepping the gardening segment
Joey Kola
André Leon Talley off-camera in the kitchen
Martha's greeting after the show
Perusing the goodies at The City Bakery

Annual Martha Stewart Holiday Craft Sale

Saturday, December 4, 2010
Living's holiday crafts over the years
Gumdrop figures
Fancy but cute cookie ornaments
A potter's work
Shoppers and vendors
Clocks made from vintage books
Holiday cards

Holiday Baking with Select Recipe Links

Carrot cake whoopie pies
Chocolate chip pumpkin bread
Buttercream-iced devil's food monster cupcakes
Mummies, creepy for Halloween
Sweet potato pie and apple-apricot galette
Raspberry banana bread
Coffee fruitcake
Francois Payard's flourless chocolate-walnut cookies
Ginger spice spritz cookies, pre-icing drizzle
PB & J thumbprint cookies
Chocolate peppermint pinwheel cookies

Stay tuned... and please let me know of any blogs you would like to share or suggest.